Hello all just thought i'd drop in and catch up with whats going on....I see Richard has nailed 5 already in this GB

Vette, i'll be coming to my GB home soon and starting my fourth in a month or so..It will be the 1/48 Superfort can't wait....

Ok, so I've moved house but still waiting on the internet. This is coming to you via 3G so this will be my last post for the year I would think.

New house has a lot of great features but the one I'm most excited about is my own room for modelling getting me off the dining room table!

Now that I'm set up and the unpacking is done time to get back to the bird.

A lot of test fitting and sanding and shaving of resin, I got the tub into the fuselage. Still some issues with the under the front windshield panel and HUD, I've test fitted the unused Verlinden panel and painted it up. It sits flatter than the beautifully detailed TD version but unfortunately with the TD I can't get the front windshield in place. Same issue with the ejector seat so I may have to redo the verlinden chair.

Ok time to test fit the Vulcan cannon. I made an olive drab canvas cannon cover out of some lead foil and used some Eduard harnesses to tie it up with.

Ok, time to get this bird together

...and finally the stubby little wings...

BTW the enhancements with the Eduard exterior set really spruces up the landing gear

and I decided to use the Mr.Colour metal finished, this is a test of the Aluminum and I am pretty happy with the result

I can't wait to see the bird gleaming in this finish.

Cheers

I've been away from the bench for so long (college) I almost forgot I was in this group build. 

I got some work done on my Mustang today but dont have any pics up yet.  I was able to get the True Details cockpit fitted in after a little bit of .  I still have a B-17 dominating my bench but the P-51 is small enough to work on.  After I spray the green in the cockpit it should build up pretty quick so I began thinking about what to use for the finish and after a little bit of reading I think I'm gonna go with Alclad.  It's gonna my first NMF plane so hopefully it goes good.....I'll try to get some pics up of the cockpit later.

Casper wish my mancave looked as good as your new one does, its been cold and rainy here so I have taken refuse on the kitchen table. It aint no fun working there. Congrats on your new play room. The 104 is looking top notch all those goodies are really making it pop.

Redraider no worries man collage does come first, but I know plastic withdrawals can be murder on one physique. Looking forward to seeing your Mustang take shape.

Alrighty, the cockpit is starting to take shape.  Tamiya was lacking in a couple areas so I went ahead and put in the True Details cockpit.

I got a couple little gaps to fill and shim up here and there but for the most part I think its looking good

And a couple wires to the radio equipment.....

I got a little bit of painting done this morning....finished the IP and painted the seat, but still need to drybrush, wash, and flat coat it

Santa was good to me this year! I was given a 1/48 Tamiya Gloster Meteor and an Academy 1/72 F-86F Sabre. Beautiful little kit the Sabre and highly detailed for its price and scale. I think I may add this to the roster for this build Vetteman when I finish my Starfighter.

Cheers

Merry Christmas guys and gals!

Xradio: Now that is sharp! Really nice job on the NM, looking good!

Redraider: The resin cockpit looks great! Looking forward to seeing all the cool detail painted up.

Casper: Congrads on the new workshop and the Christmas haul! Wow, you're detailing the heck out of that F-104. I love all the extra work you can put into a 1/32nd kit, just too lazy to do it myself.

Sorry wish I had some progress to report but haven't gotten much done. I've been having to paint outside since the basement I normally use to airbrush is so dusty I shouldn't paint anything down there but NM is totally out. And it's been too friggin' cold outside. (they need to add a freezing smile...)

I was looking for markings that were simple for this NMF P-47D but I found this 368TH Fighter Group aircraft website that had several profiles of late war colors. Masking tape kept pulling my Future seal-coat off so I free-handed most of these markings as per color plates provided by the 368TH.

Ok for a diversion from the F-104 I opened the Sabre box and then I felt compelled to start it.

Nice little kit, details are quite good for 1/72

Anyway after a bit of work the cockpit came up nice. I made some harnesses from the foil of the bottle of Zinfandel I opened for Christmas.

After a bit of an oil wash the cockpit components really jump out.

That's all for now, Cheers

I hope everyone had a great Christmas or Holiday Season. Mine was quite busy with a 3 year old in the house, in fact it was a blast. He will be submitting his second model soon, a quick build Sherman in 1/48, calls it his BIG Boomer Cant wait t6ill he gets back to sit down with him on that one. He still has the Mustang  we built last March and hasn't broken it, loves to show it to people who come over too.

Julez I have been waiting on your B-29 build to start Glad to see you have come back home too sir.

Redraider the pit is looking great, I really like what you have done with the seatbelts. Might I sugest a drop of future or clear gloss on the instrument faces, it really makes the dials pop and they will show up better buried under the glare cover.

Gamera no worries buddy a bunch of us have been having that same kinda trouble, get back when you can. I am still trying to get 2 finished so I can start the Streak Eagle the first part of next month.

Xradio81 oh I am really liking the blue against the NMF it really catches the eye

Casper I didnt think you would be able to resist the F-86 call of the wild That pit is really looking great, especially in that small scale. And you even had the foresight to add the nose weights before closing it up well done. I end up getting bit by that on my nose gear builds, someday I will remember.

hey, vetteman, can I jump in with another kit?  I have a 1/48 scale P-51d from Tamiya that I'd like to do in a blue nose scheme. Hopefully, I wont mess up the painted NMF so many times this round!

OWL

Is it too late to get in on this one? The Wife bought me a Hase P-47D-25 for Christmas. She bought is specifically for the "Saucy Susie" decal. She wants me to build another one for our daughter. Guess a pink Corsair isn't good enough...I may as well crack it open and get started.

Regards,

Jeff

So I put the bird back together and filled and sanded whatever small cracks were showing.

Now to finely spray the Mr.Colour Aluminum metalizer.

This stuff sprays really nicely out of the airbrush with hardly and air pressure applied!

Next I got out the Dremel with the buffing wheel attached. Nice! One thing though, this metal surface is very unforgiving, any speck of dust, blemish, glue mark, scrape, bad seam etc. shows up like a sore thumb. And did I mention finger prints??!! Arrgghhh..... I will invest in a box of thin latex gloves before I do this to the F-104.

I figure not all metal aircraft are blemish free and would be prone to scratches bumps, dents etc.

BTW have I mentioned also that I HATE DECALS!!! Horrible little things especially at 1/72 scale that snag, tear rip bunch up......

So after 4 hours...

So after tomorrow when everything has dried I will trim bad decal placement and give the model a very light grimy oil bath to add highlights and general wear and tear. Gotta say though, cute little bird this one!

Cheers

I reckon you've done a great job there, Casper! I have the closely-related Hobbycraft F-86E, it looks like they share almost all parts, and I will say that the finished model looks good enough to convince me to drag out the -E and get her done!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Owl you are most welcome to jump in here with another build and proud to have you. I am sure your NMF paint will flow nicely this time around. I am sure you will evade each and every pitfall that bite you the first time around,  you did face each and every one I know.

Firesmacker you are in and most welcomed, I remember the pink one you did a while back

Casper the F-86 looks fantastic !! I love the effect you achieved with the paint. Are you going to clear coat it after all the weathering ? The paint looks to have a lot of aluminum powder in it and being exposed after buffing, it may turn black or a dark color where you handled it. Just a thought.

CallSignOwl and Firesmacker the front page has been updated with your builds.

Wow, that Mister Colour Aluminum metalizer is the best finish I've seen in this NMF Groupbuilds so far. That F86 is very lifelike, I am waiting for the choice of clear so I can take notes. Progress so far on this P47. I went through dozens of decal sheets to get these letters and numbers, I need some feedback on what the best decals are. I seem to have very old sheets or there is a trick I don't know, HELP!!

Xradio: Whats the problem? The decals look great to me. I've used a bunch, Superscale, AeroMaster, Eagle Editions, etc and they've all worked great. Only ones I don't like is the Hasegawa ones.

vetteman42

Redraider the pit is looking great, I really like what you have done with the seatbelts. Might I sugest a drop of future or clear gloss on the instrument faces, it really makes the dials pop and they will show up better buried under the glare cover.

 

I actually did add a drop of future to the faces prior to the pictures but it must not have shown up too good...I added a little more and they look better now

Ok so I've learnt the hard way with this one...

The oil wash didn't go well with the metal finish and totally wiped off all the sheen and some of the paint. Now the bird looks like tarnished pewter so I'm glad I got a photo when she was in her glory days!

Also I'm glad I was able to test this stuff on a cheap little model as I have put well over $200 into the F-104.

Perhaps Vetteman you should strike the Sabre off the build or post her as completed with the last pic of her I posted.

Cheers

Xradio81 I cant see a thing wrong with your decals from here, they look good to me. What kind of trouble are you having with them ? I really like the markings you have chosen too, they really pop against the NMF

Redraider56 I find I have to apply future to the IP twice, I have this huge fear that I will drop too much on the dials and it will run all over the instrument panel and ruin it.

Awwwwwman Casper say it aint so, what a bummer. Man that finish was spectacular too.  May I ask, did you use a clear coat before using the wash ? I was going to suggest that you do that before using the wash, now I am kicking myself for not saying anything.  A few details might help someone else not make the same mistake.

Hey if you want to call it finished at the last set of pictures I will be more than happy to add it to the front page.

Hey Vetteman, can only blame myself, rushed in without thinking. However good to get this out of the way before I ruined the expensive F-104. The prelim tests I am doing look great on this bird.

Ok I'll call the Sabre finihsed if you want to post the last pic on page 1.

Cheers

Ok, got the spray just right out of the airbrush and applied the coat of metalizer after coloring various panels and masking them off.

Also I did some freehand panels with a tiny bit of steel mixed into the blend to get some interesting panel variations. Give it 48 hours to dry and then it's Dremel time again.

Cheers

Casper: OUCH sorry to hear about your accident! I think I hate it most when you put so much work into a build and then I goes sour right at the end.

Anyway the F-104 looks great!

Casper that Starfighter has my mouth waterin.

The front page has been updated with your build sir.

Nice job, Casper. I like how the color varies here and there. Just like the real thing.

Got to my P-47 yesterday. I'm using unpainted PE seat belts so I'm waiting until tomorrow for the paint to dry then I can get the 'pit all done. You can't really tell from this photo but I did pick out some detail. When I take pics of the finished office they should show up better.

Thanks for looking. As always, any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Regards,

Jeff

alright Vetteman, here I am!  I have two mustangs, both in 1/48:  A P-51D from Tamiya and Revells P-51B.  The D will be painted NMF, but I am trying foil on the B. The B will be a crossover with the Mighty 8th GB, is that permissible?   Also, both planes will be "blue noses" but the D will be a fictitious plane I am making as a gift.

I am building them side by side, so I hope I don't get the pieces mixed up!

OWL

as always, construction starts in the cockpit. Here is the cockpit of the Tamiya D. I have to say, I actually prefer the detail in Monograms D-mustang. It seemed a bit more complete...The seat was better in Monograms too, leaving me to use a Truedetail's p-51 seat. Which is very nicely detailed, btw. IT was a blast to paint!  The IP came with a decal which settled nicely over the instrument faces. A thin acrylic wash brought out details.

OWL

p.s. Did I mention I love painting Cockpits? They are my favorite part of the build.

Pits and engines are the most fun part i agree

Hey, have you tried the drybrushing techniques yet? really makes the sidewall detail stand out. A wash for the deeper parts, white drybrush and maybe a bit of gunmetal afterwards makes the boxes and ribs stand out great. Just a thought...

Richard

I do dry brush, it really makes the detail pop and helps to blend colors. I thought I did enough on the pit, but the flash probably washed it out a bit. The picture was taken in the dining room and the lighting is funky there....  I have just started doing the washes though. I cant remember if I did a wash on the sidewalls before I closed up the pit.

OWL